Free You Can't Go Home Again by Aubrianna Hunter Page A

still
don’t really know why he’s mad, not the whole reason, but he’s pissed enough to
strike out at me, and knows me well enough to have perfect aim.”
    Jenn nodded. “I get that part. I really do. If you or Brian
were ever really pissed at me, it would hurt a lot worse than anyone else. But,
Dani…well, last night he seemed more hurt than mad.”
    “That doesn’t make any sense, Jenn. Other than leaving town,
I’ve never done anything to him. And that seems a bit excessive, really.”
    “Well, there’s something that I think I should tell you…”
    Dani heard the hesitation, even thought she sensed
nervousness in Jenn’s words. She waited a beat before finally prodding, “What?”
    “No, never mind. It probably doesn’t matter anyway. Let’s
just finish shopping so we can go rent a movie. I think we need more beer. Oh,
and champagne. I have a three-day weekend before the last-minute rush of next
week, so let’s enjoy it.”
    * * * * *
    Jace picked Brian up at his office, heading over to the
local Mexican food place for lunch. They grabbed some food and sat down at one
of the tables outside. Jace needed to apologize and wanted a little quiet to do
it in.
    Before he even opened his burrito he blurted out, “I’m
sorry. I shouldn’t have done that last night. I was an ass and I’m really
sorry.”
    Bri set down his food, wiping his hands and mouth before he
said anything. “I know. Jenn told me you came back last night while I ran Dani
home. You apologized to her, made her feel better, so we’re square. But, Jace,
man… What the hell is going on with you?”
    “I don’t know. Every time I look at her I get pissed off all
over again. I even tried to go talk to her this morning, to apologize to her,
and I just made things worse.”
    “But why? Seriously, dude, I’m kind of tired of having this
conversation.”
    “I know…you and me both.”
    “So, knock it off.”
    Jace laughed without any real humor, scrubbing his hand over
his face. “Yeah…I’ll do that.” An image of Dani, flushed with arousal, lips
swollen from his kisses, flashed in his mind. Easier said than done.
    “Look, there’s only a couple more times you’ll have to see
her, and there will be a lot of people around most of the time. Just try to
stay away from her. Tomorrow at the barbeque, stay with Zack and Sean. Dani
will be with Jenn most of the time, so just steer clear. I promise not to take
it personally. Austin’s pretty big. You should be able to avoid her for the
rest of her stay. And Jenn already adjusted the seating for the rehearsal
dinner this morning. She had you guys sitting next to each other, but she moved
everyone around.”
    Jace nodded. “I’ll do that. Tell Jenn I said thanks.”
    “I will, although I think it was more for Dani’s benefit
than yours. Just hang with Nicole and the other guys. Speaking of… Have you
talked to Nicole today?”
    Jace shook his head. He was ashamed to admit that had been
the farthest thing from his mind. He couldn’t tell Brian that. “I didn’t get up
in time this morning, and she’s working right now.”
    “Well, you’d better go see her tonight. She wasn’t real happy
with you either, from what Zack says. I don’t think she’s ever seen you be that
big a jerk. To be honest, I’m not sure I have either.”
    “I’ll talk to her tonight. I don’t think she’s ever even
heard me yell. We’ve never even been in an argument, Bri.”
    “Really? In a year, you’ve never had a fight?”
    “No, not that I remember. But that’s good, isn’t it?”
    “Yeah, sure. I guess.”
    The words were right, but the tone didn’t sound so sure.
    “What? Do you and Jenn fight all the time?”
    “No, not often, really, but yeah, we fight sometimes.
Nothing like the bullshit you pulled out on Dani last night, and Jenn usually
yells back, but we do fight.”
    Jace’s mind rushed again to this morning. Dani on her
tiptoes going face to face with him, staring him down.